“You see those two ladies I’ve got showing? Do they look scared?”

Dear Universe, I get it, damn. I’ve officially quit caffeine. I’ve been made aware of the foolishness of continuing to imbibe any substance that hurts me if I forget a dose. What I’d like to know, is how long the withdrawal headache will stay until I’m forgiven for this oversight? At first, I thought I should run it off, (my usual cure-all.) Then I remembered dehydration would just make it worse.

I’m quite familiar with Motrin from the military. “Sucking chest wound? Here, take a Motrin. In fact, take two.” If one dose doesn’t end it, a second dose would only add hurling to the mix. Sigh. (My body hates pain remedies, which sucks because I hate pain.) I haven’t slept in a few days, which probably isn’t helping. I can’t help it, though! I’m in the middle of a book¹ where falling asleep is considered a death wish!

I had a blast practicing my drums earlier. I upgraded my hi-hat trigger and will use the old one as a splash or something. Another perk of electronic drums. I had to go against the instructions to install it, which irks me. Yamaha 3-zone cymbal triggers vary depending on size, but the instructions are only for the smaller model. I figured it out, but damn. Would it kill them to add a paragraph to the manual? (I’m cranky from a headache. 😂)

I played along with Mary Jane’s Last Dance by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers until my hands were numb. It’s my favorite song right now. I’m also digging Attention by Charlie Puth. (He’s the first male voice to impress me since Bruno Mars. Before Bruno was Michael Jackson. Okay, I’ll stop. Deleted four more. Heh.) American Girl always evokes memories of Silence of the Lambs. I wish I could unwatch that movie.

It was like An American Werewolf in London for me. My older siblings went on and on about how great it was, but wouldn’t tell me the story, (probably because I was the Queen of Nightmares.) So of course, I sneak watched it, was horrified, then began seriously thinking about time travel for the first time in my life. (So not the last.) All of this could be prevented by a new law requiring all scary movies first be released as a novel. Just saying.

I’m starting to miss some aspects of Twitter. Mostly the hashtag gamers and my Resistance sisters. I liked having at least one belly laugh over a tweet per day. It’s changed my role in the Resistance, too. Aside from my one-woman protests, the rest of my activity will consist of sending money to Democrats running for office. I used my AI to determine which candidates will most benefit, so at least it’s fun. Many of them are running for office for the first time. That’s wicked cool. I’m off to figure out that bass riff in Attention, by Charlie Puth.